Concerns over ‘cramped’ housing plans for village
HOMES WOULD BE BUILT ON A SMALLER AREA THAN AT FIRST PROPOSED
PLANS to build nearly 50 homes on a “cramped” former caravan site and petrol station in a Derbyshire village are set to be rejected.
The application, from Amos Group Ltd, would see 46 homes built off Derby Road, in Doveridge, close to historic pub the Cavendish Arms. Derbyshire Dales District Council planning officers have recommended that the plans, which tie up details from an outline application approved in 2017, are rejected.
Councillors, officers and residents have all detailed how they feel the plans would see a “cramped” development built on the site, with the same number of homes planned for a smaller area of land than originally approved.
Officers say in a report to be debated next week that the site “fails to achieve a high quality development that respects the character of this rural village fringe in terms of density and overall design with inadequate provision of on-site public open space”.
They wrote: “It would appear as a cramped, restless and urbanising extension of the village.”
Officers explain that the developer is aiming to build 46 homes on a reduced area of the site for which it gained planning approval in 2017.
Some parts of the site are to be protected including an area which residents fear would be for further homes at a later date, in addition to the planned 46 which previously would have spread across the whole site.
This has left councillors and officials fearing there would be a squeeze on space, with insufficient space remaining for the same original number of homes and open space for park areas.
The original scheme had proposed the demolition of the original Cavendish Cottage towards the Derby Road side of the site, alongside what would be the new access point.
It had also proposed that an adjoining field bordering Old Marston Lane and directly opposite the Cavendish Arms would also be built on.
However, the cottage is now listed as being retained in the detailed application set for a decision next week, and the field opposite the pub is set to be retained. Further land has been taken up by a planned large pond to help collect flood water.
Officers write: “It is clear that the direct consequence of a reduction in the land area of this application with the retention of the field to the west and Cavendish Cottage and its curtilage has been the lack of meaningful open space within the development.”
Officers also criticised an area marked as “The Green” as appearing more like a grass verge instead of an open public space for residents to make use of. They say the retained cottage “negatively dominates the development”.
Doveridge Parish Council says: “Our concern is that in the application, the owner has decided to retain some 10-15 per cent of the land on the west side of the site and the existing Cavendish Cottage. On top of these two areas being retained, the proposed drainage layout includes a large attenuation pond which occupies a further approximately 10 per cent of the site.
“This means that the 46 dwellings proposed have been squeezed onto some 75 per cent of the original site as tightly as possible, with a clear indication in the road design that access is provided to the retained land, for a further application for more dwellings to be submitted in the future.”
Designs for the application show there would be eight affordable homes, four of which would be affordable rent and four would be shared ownership.
Cllr Jacqueline Allison, who represents the area, on the district council, wrote that affordable homes would be welcomed in the area “as the village has seen abnormal house price inflation which has been driven by the two large recent housing developments”.
She also writes: “There is a concern that there will now be 46 homes on a much reduced site. Details have been requested regarding the retained piece of land and its use, it seems probable this will be subject to another application for additional houses.
“From the plans there seems to be little open space and the estate will have a cramped appearance in what is a very prominent entrance into the village.”
In total, 20 objection letters have been submitted by residents opposing the scheme saying the density of the homes is too tight and there would not be enough space for parking.
They also say roads and services are already under pressure and that this development would worsen those issues. The scheme would include four two-bed bungalows, 16 two-bed houses, 22 three-bed houses and four four-bed houses.